Thursday, June 11, 2015

Surfacing Priority Issues in Philadelphia

Author:Caylin Viales

Program Associate, GreenLight Philadelphia

GreenLight Philadelphia’s annual process – called the GreenLight Method --
begins each year with a discovery
phase to identify opportunities for transformation: issues that are
currently not being directly addressed, and where smart, effective
interventions would make a substantial difference in the lives of low-income
families. To do this, GreenLight staff reviews
the latest data and research from local institutions and conducts a wide range
of conversations with key stakeholders in the nonprofit sector, business community,
local government and academia. Through our research and these early-stage
conversations, we have surfaced three priority issue areas for our 2015
diligence process: early literacy development, middle school student success,
and social determinants of health. Below, we discuss each issue by describing
the demonstrated local needs and potential opportunities for partnerships with
proven national programs.

Early
literacy development is a Philadelphia School District
priority, and it
is the foundation for the citywide “READ! By 4th” Campaign, which brings together more than
50 public and private partners to double the number of fourth graders reading
on grade level by 2020. By convening roundtable discussions with early literacy
experts from the district, the campaign, and the city, GreenLight Philadelphia
has identified two clear opportunities for impact within early literacy
development: parent engagement and in-school literacy support. In order for
students to gain the literacy skills necessary to read on grade level by fourth
grade, both teachers and parents must work in collaboration to provide a
comprehensive education in and out of the classroom.

Middle School Student SuccessThe middle
grades, broadly defined as fifth through eighth grade, play a pivotal role in long-term student attachment
to school, high school graduation rates and access to college or advanced
career training. Attendance, behavior and classroom achievement in the middle
school years are key predictors of success in high school –
particularly in lower income neighborhoods. In Philadelphia, a Philadelphia Education Fund study shows that sixth graders who
failed courses, attended school less than 80% of the time, or received an unsatisfactory
behavior grade have only a 10-20% chance of graduating on time. Moreover, a CLASP report showed that the largest
proportion of Philadelphia students (40.6%) drop out of high school in ninth
grade – a direct result of the challenges associated with the transition from
middle to high school.

One
of the goals of Philadelphia’s tiered system of neighborhood, citywide and
special admission high schools – many with special curricular programs – is
that students find the right “fit” to complement their academic record, skills,
and interests during the transition from middle to high school. This system of
lotteries and special admission requires students to understand the characteristics
of different high schools. In addition, it is crucial that students have the
appropriate information and guidance to submit applications and take relevant
exams. The only support the district currently offers for middle school
students are school counselors. Middle school counselors, however, are overburdened with caseloads that can exceed
500 students per counselor. An analysis of school district
data by Research for Action
shows that nearly 80% of district eighth graders apply to attend a school other
than their assigned neighborhood school – yet more than 58% of District high
school students end up enrolled in schools that they did not choose. With the
lack of adequate counselor support at the middle school level, students do not
receive the education or information necessary to make the right choices in
their high school selection process.

To address middle
school student success, GreenLight Philadelphia is looking for proven national
models that provide student counseling and expanded learning opportunities. By
integrating middle school academics with a defined support system and expanded
learning opportunities, students would be more prepared to make appropriate
choices in their high school selection – easing the transition to high school
and lessening the chance that they will drop out before graduation.

Social
Determinants of Health and Access to Community Resources

Philadelphia is currently the lowest-ranked county in Pennsylvania in many
health factors (such as clinical care and behavioral, social and economic
factors) and health outcomes (such as mortality and morbidity). In studies of the healthiest cities in the
United States, Philadelphia often ranks far behind our peer cities such as Boston,
Washington D.C., New York City and Pittsburgh. The 2014 Philadelphia Community
Health Assessment (CHA)
shows that child asthma, diabetes, hospitalizations, and the forgoing of care
due to cost are all health indicators that are
worsening over time. GreenLight Philadelphia is focusing our diligence on
health interventions addressing key social determinants such as access to healthy foods, encouraging physical activity
and remediating unhealthy housing conditions.

Social determinants of health are the conditions in the
environments where people are born, live, learn, work and play that affect a
wide range of health and quality-of-life outcomes. Within Philadelphia, living
environments and related health factors vary widely from neighborhood to
neighborhood. These disparities in access to resources have wide-ranging impacts
on long-term health. We are particularly interested in health outcomes related
to geographic disparities in access to resources such as fresh and healthy
foods and recreational facilities, two major social determinants of health. For
example, city data shows that 26% of families in
North Philadelphia do not have access to fresh food and over 70% do not have
access to recreational facilities, which may be linked to the extremely high
levels of adult and child obesity.

GreenLight Philadelphia is looking for national models that address
the social determinants of health as a critical component of a comprehensive
healthcare system. In order to address the resource needs of low-income
residents in Philadelphia, our community health centers and hospitals need to
expand their capacity to connect patients to important community resources and
assist them in utilizing those resources.

Each of these
issues present complex, persistent problems facing Philadelphia’s children,
youth and families. Our city has struggled with low literacy rates among our
young students for decades – a problem that has long-term social costs related
to high school graduation, college completion and career success. Our middle school
students haven’t received the support they need during the difficult years
leading up to the transition to high school -- a make-or-break time as they begin to plan for
their futures and make critical decisions that affect their life paths. Futhermore,
our world-class health system been unable to meet the broad, complex needs of
low-income patients to keep families in Philadelphia active and healthy. GreenLight
Philadelphia has begun early-stage conversations with multiple organizations to
discuss their growth plans and potential local fit in Philadelphia. We are
excited about the growing momentum around bringing one of these exciting,
proven models into our city to address one of these important issues.